Bicycle support devices have heretofore been made, for example as disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 613,773; 3,901,421; 3,994,425; 4,126,228; 4,345,705; 4,386,709 and 4,452,384, for mounting a bicycle on a vehicle or for storing bicycles, and which included a wheel receiving channel and a bicycle frame engaging means for supporting the bicycle with its wheels resting in the channel. U.S. Pat. No. 613,773 discloses resilient tire engaging clips for retaining the tire in the channel and U.S. Pat. No. 4,126,228 discloses latches that extend crosswise of the open side of the channel to retain the wheel in the channel. Other patents such as U.S. Pat. No. 4,386,709 provide straps that can be wrapped around the channel and over the rim of the bicycle to retain the wheel in the channel. U.S. Pat. No. 4,416,379 discloses a bicycle storage device having a wheel engaging hook that is mounted on one end of the channel to extend crosswise of a plane bisecting the channel at a location spaced from the open side of the channel so that the bicycle wheel can be moved laterally of the channel past the free hook and shifted into the channel until both wheels rest in the channel with the weight of the bicycle supported by the hook.
The front wheels of bicycles are mounted for steering movement about a generally upright fork axis and, when bicycle support devices are mounted on a vehicle, the front wheel tends to oscillate and vibrate about the fork axis in the wind currents encountered at highway speeds. The prior wheel retainers that engaged the wheels at the location where they engage the channel, did prevent the wheels from moving out of the channel but were not effective to firmly retain the wheel and bicycle against oscillation and vibration.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a bicycle support device that will support a bicycle with wheels resting in a channel in a manner to inhibit oscillation and vibration of the bicycle and wheels in the channel.
Another object of this invention is to provide a bicycle support device in which a bicycle can be quickly mounted and removed from the support device.
Accordingly, the present invention provides a bicycle support device including a channel for receiving the wheels of a bicycle and a frame engaging means for supporting a bicycle with the wheels at a preselected location in the channel, and a toggle clamp means adapted to engage a wheel of the bicycle for drawing the wheel firmly into the channel and for also drawing the wheel in a direction lengthwise of the channel to inhibit movement of the bicycle and wheel relative to the channel. The toggle wheel clamp means includes a bracket mounted on the channel for adjustment therealong to a position spaced from one of the wheels of the bicycle, a lever pivotally mounted intermediate its ends on the bracket for movement about a lever axis crosswise of the longitudinal medial plane of the channel, and a wheel engaging hook and shank means connecting the wheel engaging hook to one end of the lever for a relative pivotal movement about a second pivot axis paralleling the lever pivot axis. The wheel engaging hook extends crosswise of the longitudinal medial plane of the channel and the hook is swingable relative to the lever to a position in which the hook is offset from the open side of the channel to engage a bicycle wheel at a location spaced from a plane through the open side of the channel, and the lever is pivotally movable about the lever axis between a clamp position in which the lever draws the wheel engaging hook in a direction inclined at an acute angle to the channel to a preselected position relative to the bracket, and a release position in which the hook is spaced from the bracket a distance greater than the preselected distance. The toggle wheel clamp means draws the wheel firmly into the channel and also exerts a force on the wheel in a direction lengthwise of the channel, to aid in holding the bicycle against movement in a direction lengthwise of the channel.